Have you ever felt so engrossed in a task that you forget all sense of your surroundings and even time? You feel like it’s been a short period of time when in reality hours have passed. It is the ideal state of productivity, and everyone would want to enter into that flow state when they want to finish tasks, assignments, etc. However, how do you enter it? Let’s explore some key ways to enter that holy state of productivity. First, avoid all external stimuli. No music while trying to focus, no noise, talking, etc. Absolute silence is crucial. The second point, which might be hard to implement but nonetheless possible, is to make your work just difficult enough. Your work should be 105% of your capabilities. If it is too easy, you will be bored. If it is too difficult, you will be frustrated and unmotivated to do it. If it just pushes your cognitive abilities without exhaustion, you will be able to do that task for a long time. If you can tick both of these boxes off, you could get into flow state pretty quickly provided you have interest in that work. That is the biggest underlying factor; you must have INTEREST. Ticking one of the boxes will still take you into flow state, but it might take more time. Now, for another question, how to prolong that flow state? The only technique is to avoid getting up. Tell every potential human that can distract you to not disturb you for a few hours, throw your phone into another room, get your snacks and hydration and then sit down. That way, you’ve set yourself up for success. Of course, this only scratches the surface. If you want to learn more about the secrets of deep focus, you should read Deep Work and Slow Productivity by Cal Newport. It is a fantastic read, and he is one of my favorite self-improvement authors (#not a plug).
Focus is not to get more things done; Focus is to get more time back.
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